


Slow Blink

by GabrielLives



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 13 X 17, 13x17 coda, GAP, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, SPOILERS!!!!, but i still like this, but im not sure it came out right, cutting the stiches, give me more sabriel, i had an idea, sam helping gabriel, the scene that simultaneously killed me and gave me life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 01:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14250252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabrielLives/pseuds/GabrielLives
Summary: SPOILERS!!! for 13x17 The Thing





	Slow Blink

**Author's Note:**

> So this didn’t really turn out how I saw it in my head, but I still like it. There was something about the scene of Sam cutting Gabriels stitches that was so calming, so…I don’t know how to describe it. But I felt good. Really good. And then it hit me what was causing it. It was the way Gabriel was blinking. That slow blink that cats do when they like you and feel safe. I had the idea to get it down in words, but I don’t think I got it right. Either way…

It was when Sam was raising the scalpel, preparing to cut the bloody twine from his lips, that he noticed.

 

This wasn't the frantic and panicked man that Ketch pulled into the war room. He had changed. Gabriel was now calm, peaceful, serene. Sam could almost see past the blood to the golden holy being that Gabriel used to be. 

 

When did he change?

 

Was it after Dean gathered his stuff and led Ketch away to pick a room? Was it after Sam's gun clattered to the map table, the sharp noise causing the traumatized archangel to retreat back into the dark library? 

 

Or maybe it was when Sam chased him into the dark, only to find him curled up in the same corner Ketch had tugged him out of. A little too roughly, if anyone bothered to ask Sam. 

 

“Gabriel?” Sam asked cautiously, hands raised defensively and careful not to touch the archangel. “It’s Sam. Uh, Winchester? Do you remember me?”

 

Sam frowned deeply at the image of Gabriel; cowered as low in the corner as he could get, his arms pulling his knees in tightly to his chest and his face buried in his arms. The only response Gabriel gave was a pathetic whimper, and Sam gaped in horror at the thought of what could destroy one of the most powerful and holy beings in the universe. 

 

“Gabriel,” Sam tried again, and slowly, so slowly moved forward to place his large hand on Gabriels arm.

 

The archangel jerked up at the gentle touch, his eyes wide and frightened. His whimpers shifted quickly into muffled screaming as Gabriel tried to shove himself back further into the corner. 

 

“Hey, hey, hey, calm down.” Sam tried to mimic how Ketch relaxed Gabriel before, a grounding hand on his shoulder and a strong yet soothing voice. “I’m not gonna hurt you. You're safe here. Hey. It’s me, Sam.”

 

At his name, Gabriel stopped suddenly. His eyes seemed to focus, regaining a little of that heavenly focus, and trained themselves on Sam. A noise escaped him, one Sam took as understanding. 

 

“Do you remember me?” 

 

Gabriels gaze never wavered, never lost that manic stare, but he didn't answer. Sam tried to push past the way his skin crawled with those wild amber eyes staring at him and kept talking.

 

“That’s ok if you don’t, but I need you to know that I won't hurt you.” 

 

There was a barely there nod, just a miniscule movement, but Sam took it as a win. And even though those eyes were still boring into him, Sam heard one long sound, like Gabriel was trying to speak, muffled by the stitches binding his lips together. 

 

Sams eyes flickered down to the twine, and frowned. 

 

“We should take those out, yeah?” 

 

He held out a hand to Gabriel, and to his genuine surprise, the archangel took it. He allowed himself to be helped off the floor, and shuffled the few feet over to one of the cushioned chairs in the library. He was always looking at Sam, studying him. 

 

As Gabriel sank heavily into the chair, Sam knelt in front of him, a hand still on his arm.

 

“I’m gonna go get the first aid kit, ok? I’ll be right back.”

 

He didn't wait for a response, just turned and walked off quickly in search of supplies. He didn't have to go far, just back into the war room. As much as the Winchesters get hurt, there was a kit in almost every room of the bunker. 

 

Sam pulled a chair over to Gabriel, too involved in preparing the scalpel with rubbing alcohol to even look up at him. He turned his chair to face Gabriel, hands raised to begin working, when Sam noticed.

 

These eyes. 

 

The beautiful eyes of the archangel Gabriel. 

 

They were no longer wide and frantic. No longer staring, flicking back and forth so quickly looking for an attack he was sure would come. 

 

Sam smiled a little before he began to cut, but as he focused on his work, he noticed that his own emotions were changing, softening into calm and contented. He looked up from his work, and watched Gabriel calmly look around the room, not looking at anything in particular. 

 

And then he blinked.

 

Slow and heavy lids went down and up, and Sam laughed quietly to himself.

 

_ Just like a cat,  _ he thought. 

 

Sam knew that this was a good sign. Gabriel felt safe. Safe enough for Sam to help him. Safe enough to let Sam use a  sharp object so close to him. Safe enough for his feelings of security to bleed from his vessel, strong enough to affect Sams own emotions. 

 

And as he continued to cut through the bloody and crusted cording in Gabriels skin, Sam had a feeling that he could do this. That he could help this broken archangel put the pieces of his grace back together.


End file.
